At the world’s biggest asset manager, a Bitcoin exchange-traded fund now generates more revenue than its signature tracker of the S&P 500 Index.
The roughly $75 billion iShares Bitcoin Trust ETF (ticker IBIT) has seen a torrent of cash from institutional and retail investors alike, drawing inflows in all but one of the last 18 months. With an expense ratio of 0.25%, the fund brings in an estimated $187.2 million in annual fees, based on back-of-the-envelope math calculated by Bloomberg as of July 1. That slightly edges out the $187.1 million made by BlackRock’s iShares Core S&P 500 ETF (IVV), which is nearly nine times larger at around $624 billion in assets, and charges just 0.03%.
“IBIT overtaking IVV in annual fee revenue is reflective of both the surging investor demand for Bitcoin and the significant fee compression in core equity exposure,” said Nate Geraci, president at NovaDius Wealth Management. “Although spot Bitcoin ETFs are priced very competitively, IBIT is proof that investors are willing to pay up for exposures they view as truly additive to their portfolios.”
BlackRock declined to comment.
Since spot Bitcoin ETFs started trading in Jan. 2024, IBIT has attracted $52 billion of the combined $54 billion in net inflows, and it holds more than 55% of all Bitcoin ETF assets, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Meanwhile, the 25-year-old IVV is the third-largest ETF among the more than 4,300 products in the US, only trailing Vanguard Group and State Street Investment Management funds that also track the S&P 500.
A surge of cash rushed into Bitcoin ETFs after US regulators reluctantly opened the door to mainstream adoption, prompting an influx of capital from hedge funds, pensions and banks. IBIT, which has an expense ratio similar to its peers, is already a top-20 ETF by trading volume, according to Bloomberg Intelligence.
“It’s an indication of how much pent-up demand there was for investors to gain exposure to Bitcoin as part of their overall portfolio without having to open a separate account somewhere else,” said Paul Hickey, cofounder of Bespoke Investment Group. “It also illustrates the leadership of Bitcoin in the crypto space where it’s perceived utility as a store of value has essentially left the others in its dust.”
Bitcoin’s supremacy over smaller altcoins has widened, with the world’s largest cryptocurrency trading above $100,000, propelled by President Donald Trump’s pro-crypto stance. Wall Street’s buying spree has been led by Michael Saylor’s Strategy, which has used its cash to accumulate a mountain of Bitcoin. Hedge funds have also piled into the firm’s convertible debt, capitalizing on arbitrage trades that involve buying the bonds while shorting the stock.
